The Pyromaniac Lovers
by dansesinfernale
Summary: He was a visionary. Someone who could take the very stuff that the universe was made of and shape it into something define, all for his own purposes. And people believed him. She was a fighter, someone likely to be in the very thick of things and throwing punches, even if the matter had nothing to do with her whatsoever. [Bellatrix/Tom Riddle]


A/N: Written as an entry fic for The Great Maze Competition & The Greek Mythology Mega Challenge on HPFC.

_2. Apollo __– __God of music, arts, knowledge, and healing. Apollo was depicted as a very handsome, beardless young man with long hair and an ideal physique. As the embodiment of perfectionism, he could be cruel and destructive, and his love affairs were rarely happy. Write about the Philosopher's Stone. Alt; write about a destructive relationship._

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><p>He was the most brilliant student in his year. Arguably one of the most brilliant students in the whole history of Hogwarts, save for Albus Dumbledore and a few others, who were the pioneers of their generations. He was going to be the star of his.<p>

She was one of the whole beautiful girls in school, with her dark, curling hair and dark-lidded devilish eyes. She was known for her cruelty and passion, as well as for her absolute hatred of Muggle-borns. If Andromeda and Narcissa were considered princesses of the school the she was worth two each of them, for she was a queen. And not any queen, but a Dark Queen.

He was a visionary. Someone who could take the very stuff that the universe was made of and shape it into something define, all for his own purposes. And people believed him.

She was a fighter, someone likely to be in the very thick of things and throwing punches, even if the matter had nothing to do with her whatsoever. Not a soldier (yet) because she was far too unpredictable and hated those who had more authority than her. But in time, and with his careful manipulating, she would become a dangerous and deadly soldier.

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><p>She felt like she was on fire.<p>

His kisses felt like white hot flames trailing wherever his lips placed them, and something inside her bloomed like the fire of a phoenix, something she could not name, filling her up with its magic. Oh yes, she was enjoying it very much.

Suddenly, the fire grew worse, and what seemed to be a low level pain at first, started spreading up her spine and into her every nerve end, causing her a great amount of pain.

"Tom—" she began, but her vocal cords seemed to be paralysed in pain, and she shook violently for a good 5 seconds, back arched in a mixture of pleasure and pain before it finally subsided.

'What the fuck, Tom?" she drew her wan quickly and shot a curse at him, as soon as she snapped out of the spell and gained full control of her senses once again.

He had to take a few steps back, even as he cast a shielding spell from her curse.

"How dare you use an Unforgivable on me?" she hissed, was at the ready to strike. The anger in her eyes was almost palpable in the air between them.

"My dearest Bella." Tom Riddle said, holding out his hands in a gesture of surrender. "It was merely a low-level Cruciatus that was meant to enhance your pleasure. I wanted to surprise you."

"You used it on me without my permission!"

"Well, it was a surprise, darling. I thought you rather enjoyed it."

"I don't care. It was a fucking Unforgivable Curse and you didn't bother to ask if I was alright with it at all."

"It was harmless." Tom brushed it off with a pale, slender hand. "You're still quite alive, aren't you? I hardly see the need for you to make such a fuss."

"Fuck off." she spat, and stalked off to her dormitory. The scary thing was, she knew, in her deepest of heart, that if he had asked her, she would have probably allowed him to do it. She frowned to herself as she pulled the covers over her, and resolved to ignore him and stay away for a good while.

But less than a week later, she had relented and went back to him.

"Why did you let them go, my dear Bella?"

His icy voice cut through the darkness like a knife, making shivers run up and down her spine.

"I—"

"No excuse is necessary. There can only be one punishment for those who fail to follow my orders."

"But, my lord—"

"_Kneel." _

"I did try to—"

"I said, _kneel. _Is more punishment in order, perhaps?"

Blinking back tears of humiliation, she lowered herself to the floor, head bowed, and angry tears leaking from her eyes.

"For this, you will be given a dose of the Cruciatus Curse." he said.

And then, oh so quietly, he whispered: "_Crucio_."

She didn't know what she had been expecting, but it certainly wasn't the searing, white hot pain that wracked her whole body and sen there writhing uncontrollably on the floor.

She couldn't tell when the pain faded, but she was too shocked to notice anything, giant sobs shaking her whole body.

"Let this be a lesson to those who would dare to disobey my orders henceforth." his voice said.

She didn't need to look up to know that each and every single Death Eater's face was frozen in horror and disbelief.

It wasn't only the fact that Bellatrix was quite obviously the Dark Lord's favourite, but also because they had never seen him turn upon one of their own kind before.

For all of their posturing and threatening, the Death Eaters were at heart, a very tight-knit and close sort of 'family'. It was what helped them work so hard together and strive to achieve their ideal world. The very idea of torturing one of their own was unthinkable.

"Leave us." he flicked his fingers, and the other Death Eaters dispensed quietly.

He approached Bellatrix swiftly, helping her up with a strange sort of tenderness, yet she cringed slightly from him.

"You know it had to be done, my dearest Bella. We needed a demonstration to enforce loyalty from them. And you did very well." his voice was soft and coaxing.

She still could not say anything, eyes averted from his gaze.

"You still love me, don't you, Bella?"

For some reason, she knew the answer was yes. It would always and forever be yes, regardless of how he treated her.

They set each other on fire, yes, but it was only a matter of time before one fire was consumed by the other, until nothing was left but ashes and an empty skeleton.


End file.
